David Millar - why is he making headlines?

seriously? i don't understand why whenever there is a scandal, we see an interview from Millar. Why is everyone so eager to hear what he has to say on the topic? this guy has serious credibility issues and i have to question why it seems he is the "go-to-guy" on all topics related to doping.

when the chicken sh*t started hitting the fan, the first person we heard from was Millar. now that the vino sh*t is hitting the fan, we also get to hear from Millar.

that's not true. a lot of riders have spoken out, they just don't have the limelight like millar does.

i'm not opposed to him speaking his opinion, that doesn't bother me. it's just these pointless articles with headlines like "Millar Speaks Out on Vino Doping Case", or "Millar says that Ras is Ruining the Tour", etc. Does he deserve so much attention?

It's nice that at least one rider speaks out and doesn't seem afraid of recriminations from the rest of the peloton.

Look at what a whiner Simoni was made out to be for calling Basso's Giro performance extraterrestrial. Look at anyone like Frankie Andreu who comes out regarding doping on the USPS team back in 1999 or testifying regarding Armstrong. That kind of public statement, whether in the press or under oath, gets riders the cold shoulder. Millar apparently doesn't care about cold shoulders, which is refreshing.

Yeah, Millar doped, but he copped to it and did his time w/o excuses. That should earn some respect right there.

What's interesting to me is the lack of opinion on the matter from Armstrong. If anyone could bully-pulpit this topic in pro cycling, it's Lance. However he's curiously absent from these discussions because he's so involved with his foundation. Hmmm......

What's interesting to me is the lack of opinion on the matter from Armstrong. If anyone could bully-pulpit this topic in pro cycling, it's Lance. However he's curiously absent from these discussions because he's so involved with his foundation. Hmmm......

lance and the lance corporation have a huge reputation to maintain. he would gain nothing by getting further into the mess than he has already.

lance and the lance corporation have a huge reputation to maintain. he would gain nothing by getting further into the mess than he has already.

Well, then. Millar has nothing to lose by speaking his mind in quite a loud volume, does he?

As much as I want to respect Lance and his "I'm the most tested athlete ever" attitude, he doesn't back it up by speaking his mind when I believe his voice could do a lot of good. In my opinion, it's because he's got something to hide. And therein lies your statement above about the reputation of LA and LAF.

Well, then. Millar has nothing to lose by speaking his mind in quite a loud volume, does he?

As much as I want to respect Lance and his "I'm the most tested athlete ever" attitude, he doesn't back it up by speaking his mind when I believe his voice could do a lot of good. In my opinion, it's because he's got something to hide. And therein lies your statement above about the reputation of LA and LAF.

I just wish Lance wasn't such a corporate robot.

yeah, i agree that millar has much less, if anything, to lose by speaking his mind. and clearly the press is lapping it up.

I'm not sure armstrong's voice would do much good. i mean, he has been through so much with David Walshes book's, multiple lawsuits, and a public witchunt of sorts. there is a huge sector of people who would never believe anything he said anyway. after a decade of dodging doping allegations, i wouldn't have the desire to take on this fight either.

In this case, Millar just happened to be in the middle of a statement at a press conference when the news broke. He gave his gut reaction out loud, which is news.

In other cases, it's because he speaks English, and is well-spoken. He used to write a diary-style column in ProCycling, and lots of British, US, and Australian journalists know him. It's not that he's the best person to interview, but he's become one of the easiest (for the english speaking press).

David Moncoutie has always been outspoken about drugs in cycling, but he gets very little English-speaking press because he speaks French. Other than Moncoutie, if you're looking for a clean rider with a clean past to comment on doping, well, you're just going to have to settle for the likes of Millar.

i found this very interesting. velonews had vaughters on their tdf cast this morning. they asked him various questions, including this one.

That raises the next question... he's gone through a two year suspension for EPO. Why regard him as a moral authority for clean sport?

Vaughters: Well, the first thing to realize about Dave is that he could have fought and won his case. There was one expired vial of EPO found in his home. He never tested positive and the evidence was minimal. However, when asked the question, he told the truth. He took his lumps. We all knew that Dave was a massively talented rider that didnt dope for most of his victories. The pressure of sponsor obligations and performance pressure to live up to being "the next big thing" finaly got to him.

Anyhow, Dave told the truth and now he's back and doing well, the correct way. He never used the "I've been tested 1000 times and never tested psoitive" BS... He just told the truth. That's why I love Dave.

seriously? i don't understand why whenever there is a scandal, we see an interview from Millar. Why is everyone so eager to hear what he has to say on the topic? this guy has serious credibility issues and i have to question why it seems he is the "go-to-guy" on all topics related to doping.

when the chicken sh*t started hitting the fan, the first person we heard from was Millar. now that the vino sh*t is hitting the fan, we also get to hear from Millar.

because he's a sanctimonious twit and self-appointed peloton doping policeman. he better never get caught again .

From the Velonews, Cyclingnews, etc. where we get our cycling news from, they are not going to try and get quotes from every French, German, Spanish rider where words can be taken out of context, mis-translated, etc.

Very easy to go to the stable of English speaking riders and get their opinions.

i found this very interesting. velonews had vaughters on their tdf cast this morning. they asked him various questions, including this one.

That raises the next question... he's gone through a two year suspension for EPO. Why regard him as a moral authority for clean sport?

Vaughters: Well, the first thing to realize about Dave is that he could have fought and won his case. There was one expired vial of EPO found in his home. He never tested positive and the evidence was minimal. However, when asked the question, he told the truth. He took his lumps. We all knew that Dave was a massively talented rider that didnt dope for most of his victories. The pressure of sponsor obligations and performance pressure to live up to being "the next big thing" finaly got to him.

Anyhow, Dave told the truth and now he's back and doing well, the correct way. He never used the "I've been tested 1000 times and never tested psoitive" BS... He just told the truth. That's why I love Dave.

Will be interesting if Slipstream is signing Millar as has been rumoured.

that's not true. a lot of riders have spoken out, they just don't have the limelight like millar does.

i'm not opposed to him speaking his opinion, that doesn't bother me. it's just these pointless articles with headlines like "Millar Speaks Out on Vino Doping Case", or "Millar says that Ras is Ruining the Tour", etc. Does he deserve so much attention?

'Cuz he's the expert in doping... so why not go to the man that knows all about it. Plus, he hasn't been able to keep his promise to win a stage or make some waves in the race so why not do it in another way?

I'm kind of on the fence about him though. I think he should voice his opinion but the press is the one making him out like a savior to the sport. So you can't really blame him for all the coverage.

As for Lance... he's not racing anymore so who cares what he thinks. His words won't have any effect on the Tour riders. But people still want to take pot shots at him because of previous accusations of his training practices. Leave the man alone. It's over. Stop chasing ghosts.

This day will be over... one of these days!

"I have cancer, cancer doesn't have me."
Quote from a Kaiser commercial that reminds me of my mom.